Travel: National Gallery of Iceland

The National Gallery of Iceland is an awesome place to spend a couple of hours. One reason we love visiting art galleries is because you get to experience the culture and landscape through the eyes of artists – seeing the area as they do. There’s something special about it, that’s for sure.

The gallery is open from 10am – 5pm each day, and you’ll get a bonus entrance to the House of Collections, too. We’re both students, so we got in for 1200 kr, or about $13.50 Canadian; plus, it was fun to see the lady’s reaction to Bryce’s student ID! If you’re an adult, then it’s double that. Anyone 17 or under is free. And seniors are the same as students. All in all, reasonably priced! We didn’t buy tickets ahead of time, since it’s not that busy of a place.

National Gallery of Iceland

Visit when you can, after breakfast or after a nice lunch. Take time to walk around the pond (looks more like a lake) and enjoy the laidback timeline that comes with vacation. Okay, let’s check out some photos!

This might seem like an odd question, yet have you ever seen The Thomas Crown Affair? A movie with Rene Russo and Pierce Brosnan about a billionaire who steals a Monet? Well, it also has a subplot in it about an artist who fraudulently paints reproductions. The replicas are good, like really good.

Well, at the National Gallery of Iceland the first gallery that I’ve seen that has a whole section of fraudulent paintings. It’s wild to see them in a gallery, let alone dual credit to the original artist and forgery artist.

Up next, some of their permeant exhibits – the good stuff!

Okay – this is funny. If you’ve watched the second season of 1923 (so many media references today, eh?!), you know that it’s funny when Alex has a comeback about the cold in Montana. She notes, I’m from England. Well, then get ready to be cold for the first time! We learned on our trip to Iceland that even though it’s farther north than where we are in Northern Alberta, it only gets to be about -2 degrees Celsius – it hovers around zero. Wild, eh? As such, yes, Boston would be cold (even if only a few degrees colder, haha).

This painting below is one of my favourites – I love the texture and the colours. It’s bright and happy, I love it.

If you’re not big into art, the gallery is still worth checking out – the building itself is stunning.

Well, there you have it – the National Gallery of Iceland. They’ve got a cafe and friendly staff, so be sure to check them out if you’re in Reykjavik with a couple of hours to spare.

Happy travelling!